John le Carre's new book "Our Kind of Traitor" (Penguin/Viking, 2010) is superb reflecting the essence of the Washington Post's Top Secret America but set entirely against the background of the UK's Secret Service (MI5). It's well worth reading.
"The terror thing, and the threat of civil unrest, were doing wonders for the private-security sector. Some of her very best ex-officers were earning twice as much as they'd earned in the Service and loving it." (p 123)
". . . We are suffering, as an ex-great nation, from top-down corporate rot. . . ." (p 119)
"What about the outsourcing of our Intelligence requirements to friendly companies, banks by no means excluded? We're not a crusade, Hector. We're not hired to rock the boat. We're here to help steer it. We're a Service." (p 175)
